Marble Posts – Page 2 – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

Polishing a Small Marble Lobby at an Edinburgh Residence

23rd September 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaned, Edinburgh, entrance, hall, hallway, high shine, lobby, Lothian, Marble, polished, sealed, tiled, vestibule

I was asked to take a look at this small but beautiful Marble tiled vestibule at the entrance to a lovely house in Edinburgh. As you can see from the photograph below the colours in the Marble were looking washed out and the overall appearance was dull and lifeless. As the main entrance it must have seen a lot of foot traffic and a fair amount of wear and abuse over the years. Cleaning and Polishing Marble Tiles The first task was to brush and vacuum the floor to remove debris and grit. After this the floor was sprayed with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean a tile cleaner that is safe to use on stone floors and scrubbed in with a black buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This released a lot of dirt from the tile and the soiled cleaning solution was then rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. Once the floor had all the surface dirt removed we then proceeded to polish the marble with a set of diamond burnishing pads which restore the shine the stone. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and you start with a coarse pad with a little water and work your way through the set moving from a the coarse pads through to the finer pads; this process polishes the stone more and more until you get a smooth finish. After each pad was used the area was thoroughly

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Restoring an Egyptian Marble Patio in Northamptonshire

16th September 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Bozeat, Bozeat Tile Cleaning, Bozeat Tile Sealing, Egyptian Marble Patio Cleaning, Egyptian Marble Patio Sealing, Marble Patio Cleaning, Marble Patio Sealing, northamptonshire, Rust Removal

Patios are particularly difficult to keep clean as they are continuously exposed to the elements fortunately Tile Doctor specialises in cleaning and restoring all different types of natural stone internal and external. I was recently asked to restore a patio at a house in Bozeat, a village in Northamptonshire. The patio was consisted of both floor tiles and walls, and was made of a rather uncommon stone: Egyptian-style Marble. The customer had clearly taken pride in the presentation and aesthetic of his garden but, having a concentrated on other projects for the past couple of years, he had neglected to preserve the condition of patio. Making matters worse, the patio had never been sealed, and this had allowed dirt and moss to become ingrained in the stone. The customer was also concerned by a large rust mark left on the stone where old garden furniture had been sitting. Upon my first visit to the property, I carried out a test clean on a small patch of Marble using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a high-alkaline cleaner that we find particularly reliable to use on natural stone. The customer was very impressed by the sudden improvement in the condition of the test patch. I also tested a new product by the name of Tile Doctor Rust Away, which is a non-acidic rust remover.

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Marble Shower Tile Damaged during End of Tenancy Clean in Bedfordshire

1st September 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments bedfordshire, Cleaning company, End of Tenancy Clean, Limescale, marble tile cleaning, Marble Tile Polishing, Milton Keynes, Sharnbrook, Sharnbrook Tile Cleaning, Shower Stone Cleaning, Shower Tile Polishing, Shower Tiles, Tile Cleaning, tile polishing

I was contacted by the owner of a cleaning company in Milton Keynes, after an end of tenancy clean at a house in Sharnbrook went wrong. Unfortunately a member of their staff had incorrectly applied an acid based cleaning product to the Marble shower tiles which like most natural stone is acid sensitive. The cleaning product had etched the stone causing the damage you can see below. Being a reputable company they were determined to put the situation right and we were asked to step in. We have had a few issues of this type before where customers keen to remove unsightly Limescale marks from their stone tiles use a household cleaner without reading the bottle label first to see if it’s safe to use. Issues of this nature on Marble cannot be easily resolved with chemical products; it takes specialist knowledge and equipment. The quote was given and accepted and the work was booked in with the letting company for a few weeks later. Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Shower Cubicle The first photos show the extent of the damage which had not only damaged the immediate area but as the cleaning product was in liquid form it had ran down the wall had totally ruined the surface of the tiles in the lower half of the shower. The first thing I did was to protect the shower tray with towels

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Removing Limescale from Black Marble Bathroom Tiles

17th August 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Baldock, Bathroom Tiles, cleaning marble tiles, limescale removal, North Hertfordshire, Polishing, Polishing Marble, Sealing Marble

This customer in Baldock, North Hertfordshire has a beautiful Black Marble bathroom floor which unfortunately was far from looking its best due to a build-up Limescale. Normally this can be removed with an acidic cleaning product however Marble like all natural stones is acid sensitive would be damaged in the process. The only way to remove the Limescale would be to polish it off using a set of diamond pads which would also restore a high shine finish to the Marble floor tiles. Removing Limescale from Polished Black Marble The first step before starting the process was to cover the threshold edges, skirting’s and doors with tape to protect it from splashing etc. Next we used a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean which is an alkaline tile and grout cleaner with hand brushes to clean-up the thin gout lines and remove any grit from the floor. The floor was then rinsed with fresh water to remove the now soiled cleaning product and also steam cleaned to neutralise floor. The water was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. Honing Black Marble to Restore Polish To bring back the natural shine we honed the floor using a series of diamond-encrusted burnishing pads. Firstly, I applied a Coarse 400 grit pad to strip away what remained of the old sealer and Limescale,

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Restoring Ruined Marble Wall Tiles in a Surrey Shower

12th August 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments grout cleaning, Leatherhead, Leatherhead Tile Cleaning, marble tile cleaning, Marble Tile Polishing, Marble Tile Sealing, Shower Stone Cleaning, Shower Stone Sealing, Shower Tile Polishing, Surrey, Tile Cleaning, tile polishing, tile sealing

Marble tiles are a fantastic choice of stone for a shower cubicle because of its distinctive characteristics and quality. It can really add a luxurious feel and when used in a bathroom take it to the next level. However, it’s extremely important to note that Marble like all natural stone is a porous and acid-sensitive material. It must therefore be cleaned with care using suitable products. This particular Marble tiled shower cubicle at a property in Leatherhead is a good example of this done wrong. The owner had used an acid-based cleaning product to clean the stone, resulting in damage to the sealer and causing unappealing streaks to form. This type of damage can appear irreparable but, with the right combination of cleaning methods and products, it can be fixed. Once the old sealer has been removed, and the tiles have been cleaned, polished and re-sealed, they can look as a good as new. Here’s how I helped this customer restore the Marble shower cubicle. Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Shower Cubicle To begin the restoration, I scrubbed the dirty grout lines using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a highly reliable and multi-purpose alkaline-based product. I then rinsed the tiles with water to remove the traces of cleaning product. Next, I moved on to the polishing stage

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Restoration of Marble Tiles

6th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, kendal, lancashire, marble tile cleaning, Tile Cleaning

We were recently asked to look at a polished Marble Tile installed in the floor of a house in Kendal, Cumbria. They were recently fitted but the local Tiler had struggled to get the sheen right on the surface of the Marble, in fact the sealer he had used was badly smeared in some places and needed to come off. To strip off the sealer we used with a Red diamond encrusted burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine and then rinsed the floor with water which we then removed using a wet and dry Vax machine. We then used other pads in the burnishing system process to clean and polish the Marble floor until we had a nice overall sheen. We finished off the floor with a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal, which is a premium, no-sheen, natural-look penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection. Source: Polishing Marble Tiled Floor in Kendal, Cumrbia

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Restoring Marble Tiled Wet Room in Suffolk

5th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble cleaning, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning

Details below of a wet room lined with 10m2 of Marble in old cottage on the outskirts of the medieval village of Great Bricett in the heart of Suffolk. You can see from the photographs staining of the Marble Tiled wall and floor which was left in a mess after a friend of the family had tried to remove the limescale during a visit. Cleaning and Sealing Marble Tile The Marble tiles were cleaned and polished using a set of mini Twister burnishing pads. The pads are encrusted in diamonds are brilliant at restoring hard stone surfaces such as Marble. You start with the red pad to remove the existing sealer followed by the white and yellow pads to clean and hone the stone. The wall and floor tiles were then rinsed with water to clean and neutralise the floor ready for sealing. The room had under floor heating which helped to dry out the tile and so it was soon possible to use the final green pad to polish the tiles and move onto sealing. To seal we used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying breathable sealer that enhances colour as well as providing durable surface protection, a one litre bottle of sealer was sufficient. Thanks to the under floor heating we managed to complete the job in a single day and as you can see from the final set of

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Cleaning and Sealing Marbled Tile Hallway

4th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble tile restoration, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning

This Marble tiled floor was in the hallway of a house in the historic town of Woodbridge; the floor had lost its lustre was looking dull and in need of a good polish. Marble Cleaning and Sealing It took a day to clean the Marble tiles using a set of 17 inch diamond encrusted Twister burnishing pads fitted to a buffing machine. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the red pad in conjunction with water to remove the existing sealer followed by the white and yellow pads also with water to clean and hone the stone. The tiles were then rinsed with clean water to clean and neutralise the floor ready for sealing. Once the floor was dry we used the final green pad with a small amount of water to polish the tiles before moving onto sealing. To seal we used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which does what it says on the tin and enhances colour as well as providing that important surface protection, a five litre bottle of sealer was required to provide two coats on this 35m2 floor. I’m not the world’s best photographer but hopefully you agree from the pictures on this page that the floor has now got its shine back. Source: Marble Tiled Hallway polished in Suffolk

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Marble Tile Replacement and Sealing

3rd April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments marble restoration, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning, tile replacement

Polished Marble Care in Felixstowe This large 52m2 marble tiled floor located in the Entrance Hall of a property in Felixstowe had been laid when the property was renovated in 2002. Unfortunately 15 of the tiles were cracked and so our first job was to carefully remove and replace them. Polished Marble Tiled Floor Care and Restoration The floor was then burnished using a set of Burnishing Pads and then sealed using two litres of Ultra-Seal which is a no-sheen, natural-look penetrating sealer that offers maximum stain protection. All in this Marble Floor Care job took 3 days and should now keep on looking good for some time to come. Source: Polished Marble Care, Felixstowe

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Marble Tiled Bathroom Cleaning and Grout Colouring

2nd April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble restoration, marble tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning, west surrey tile cleaning

These Marble Tiles were installed in the bathroom at a residence in Earls Court, west London; the Marble certainly gave a luxurious effect but had dulled over time, on top of that the grout had stained in places and both were in need of really good deep clean. Cleaning Marble Tiles We set about cleaning the Marble Tiled floor using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with Deck Brushes. Once we were happy the floor was rinsed with clean water to remove and chemical residue and we then began polishing the floor using a buffing machine fitted with a green burnishing pad, the green pads are encrusted with very fine diamonds and used with a small amount of water to produce a high shine finish. Applying Grout Colourant The last step was to colour the grout which is easily done using a bottle of Grout Colourant. This is applied into the grout lines using a tooth brush; as well as changing the colour the product provides an epoxy coating on top of the grout protecting it against future discoloration. The customer was certainly pleased with difference and said the “the results are amazing” when she returned home from work that evening. Source: Cleaning and Polishing Marble Bathroom Tiles

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Scratched Marble Floor Repolished

1st April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble tile cleaner, tile repolishing, west surrey tile cleaning

We were asked to polish this marble floor in Eaton Square which is in Belgravia one of the most historic residential parts of London, a short distance from Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge. Cleaning a Marble Tiled Floor There were a lot of scratches in the Marble floor and it was also looking dull, so we set about first by giving it a good clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an strong alkaline product designed for use on stone floors. It’s important to clean the floor before polishing to ensure there’s no dirt or grit on the floor which might get ground into the floor during polishing making the problem worse. Polishing Marble Tiles Once the floor was clean we started the polishing process with a Red Burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine, the pads are diamond encrusted and can remove deep scratches. We went over the floor carefully covering every tile four times and then followed up with the white, yellow and then green polishing pads, each one polishes the floor to a higher degree. The next step was to apply Tile Doctor Shine crystallising powder with a little water polished in with our polishing machine fitted with a natural fibre pad; this step gives the floor a tough durable finish. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed to remove any residues left on the

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Cleaning and Polishing Marble Mosaic Tiles

31st March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments balcony tiles, cleaning services, marble restoration, Polishing, Tile Cleaning

Installed on an external balcony these black and white Marble Mosaic tiles had been exposed to the elements resulting in an accumulated of dirt. Cleaning Marble Mosaic Balcony Tiles Marble is a very tough product so for best results we recommend using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine that can cut through the grime and re-polish the stone. There are four pads in the set and you start with the Red pad together with a little water, this removes any remaining sealer; next you move on to the White pad again with a little water and this will remove any ingrained dirt. The next two pads, Yellow then Green complete the polishing process and produce a high shine finish. Between pads you need to rinse the floor with clean water to remove loose dirt and grime, I can recommend the use of a Wet Vacuum for this they are excellent at removing surface water quickly. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tiled Floor We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal the floor. Luckily the weather held out, being external we wouldn’t have been able to seal the Marble if it was wet and it was forecast to rain that day. We sealed the Marble Mosaic tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really does bring out the colour of natural stone, it’s also rated for

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Marble Tiles restored in Busy London Corridor

30th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Cleaning, corridor, pro-clean, Sealing, services, ultra seal

This Marble tiled floor was installed in the corridor of a very smart block of apartments in the Victoria area of Central London. The corridor was the main access route in and out of the apartment block and was constantly being used by residents, as a result there was a lot of foot traffic and decorators had contributed to the state of the floor which was now looking worse for wear with dirt, varnish and paint spots. Having struggled to get it clean the managing agent was considering replacing the floor, that was of course until the contacted us. Cleaning Marble Tiled Floors To remove the paint and varnish we used Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is an effective coatings remover designed for use on most types of tile and stone, we left it to soak and penetrate into the floor for 45 minutes before scrubbing it into the floor with rotary machine fitted with a black pad scrubbing pad followed by a hot water rinse to remove the cleaner. We followed this with the application of 1 to 4 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean again scrubbed in with a scrubbing pad; Pro-Clean is a Cleaner and Stripper so this step removed any remaining sealer and dirt from the Marble floor. Last step was to wash the tile down again to remove any chemical and neutralise the floor. Polishing Marble Tile The

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Marble Tile Polishing in Buckinghamshire

29th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Chesham, cleaning services, marbled floor, polishing tiles, restoration, Sealing, south buckinghamshire, textured marble tiles, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

A customer recently purchased a property the village of Chesham and hoped we could improve the appearance of her textured marble tiled floors which had over a number of years become dull and lost the polished marble look one would expect from a floor of this quality. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing For polished stone like Marble and Limestone the only way to restore the finish is to burnish the floor and this floor was no different. The burnishing pads are diamond encrusted and come in a setup of four seventeen inch pads for use with a heavy rotary machine, each pad having a different purpose. So we started with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers together with a little water, we then took the opportunity to clean up the grout by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbing it into the grout lines to get them clean. Next step was to remove the soiled cleaning solution and wash the floor down with water before moving onto the white burnishing pad which will grind off ingrained dirt and is the first step in polishing the floor. We then completed the floor polishing using the Yellow then Green polishing pads which smooth down the surface and produce a shiny finish. Sealing Textured Marble Tiles Once the floor was polished we applied Tile Doctor

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Cleaning and Polishing Marble Tiles

28th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, conservatory, Ealing, floor restoration, kitchen, marble floor, polishing tiles, Sealing, south buckinghamshire, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

These photographs were taken at a house in Ealing, West London where the customer had requested a deep clean and polish of the marble tiled floors installed in a kitchen and conservatory which had become dull and dirty over a period of time. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing The first step was to give the Marble floor a thorough clean throughout with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an industrial strength Tile Cleaner safe to use on natural stone floors, we also took this opportunity to use a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them nice and clean, the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with clean water. The next step was to use a set of diamond encrusted Twister Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the floor. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through one by one until you get to the final Green polishing pad which provides a high polish, we managed to complete most of this process before the end of day. Polishing and Sealing Marble Tile The next day we completed the polishing process with the Green pad which really brought a deep shine to the floor. To

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Multiple Marble Wall And Floor Tiles Cleaned

27th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, cloakroom, East Surrey, kitchen, marble mosaic, marble tile, Sealing, shower cubicle, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, Woking

This job was to refresh the Marble tile installed in a house in Woking. There were a number of different marble tiles installed on the wall and floor including two shower cubicles, a bathroom floor, a small cloakroom floor and the kitchen floor; the pictures below show before and after photographs for each job. Cleaning a Marble Tile Shower Cubicle I started with the shower cubicles using Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro which is a specific product for cleaning showers and comes with a spray attachment that mixes the cleaning agent with air making it lighter and helping it stick to vertical surfaces. This was left to dwell on the surface for a while and then the tiles were scrubbed before being rinsed down. This action not only cleaned the dirt and soap scum off the tile it also got rid of some mould that had started to grow. In one shower there was a build-up of limescale on the wall so to get rid of this I used a little Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, this product is usually for removing grout smears from tile however it’s also good at removing most types of mineral deposits such as Limescale, you do have to be quick though as it’s an Acid based product I had to be quick and to thoroughly rinse because I didn’t want to damage the marble. Marble Mosaic Bathroom floor tile cleaning The next

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Removing Limescale from Tumbled Marble

26th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments central london, cleaning business, cleaning services, london, Maintenance, marble floor, restoration, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor, tumbled marble mosaic

This Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor was installed in a house in London, SE1 four years before prior and was now looking a little tired. This was mostly caused by a build-up of Limescale which had then become grimy. Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor To treat the Limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which managed to remove most of the scale and to remove the remainder I steamed the tiles using an Earlex Steamer and carefully scraped any remaining Limescale residue away with a Stanley window scraper. To restore the marble itself I used Tile Doctor burnishing pads to re-polish the tiles using 17′ pads on the main area and 8′ pads on a hand-held Clarke polishing machine in the corners. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a wet vacuum. As the marble was naturally fast drying I used an Earlex heat gun to speed dry the floor and repeated this after lunch to ensure the floor was entirely dry before sealing. Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles Once the Marble tiles were dry I started to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a great choice for natural stone as it

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Marble Tile Restoration at a Neoclassical Palladian Mansion

25th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, cleaning tiles, floor restoration, Glasgow, grout cleaner, Kinross house, marble tiles, pantry, Sealing, Tile Cleaning, tile maintenance

This Marble tiled floor is located in the pantry of the historical Kinross House which is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven that was built by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home in 1686. You can see from the photograph the floor was in quite a state and given the history it was an honour to be asked to work on the floor. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing We brushed out the floor to remove all the loose debris and then proceeded to restore the floor using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which fit a rotary buffing machine. The burnishing process is designed to grind out dirt in the stone and smooth /polish the floor, you start with a course pad and work your way through the four pad set until you get to the finer polishing pad. This may sounds simple but it does take time to complete. Sealing Marble Tiles Once the floor was polished we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a non-sheen premium sealer recommended for natural stone that provided the natural matte look the client was after and will protect the Marble and keep the floor looking good. Source: Marble restoration in Perth and Kinross, Scotland

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Dealing with Scratched Marble Floor Tiles

24th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, floor restoration, hallway, kitchen, Lincolnshire, marble tiles, natural riven stone, re-sealing, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, tiled floor, Woodhall spa

This Marble Tiled floor was installed in the conservatory of a house in Woodhall Spa who had asked if we could remove the scratches from their inherited marble tiles around the door area and where furniture had been dragged across the tile as shown in the photos. Interestingly our customer is a chief engineer on cruise ships all over the world and knew what this floor could look like if restored professionally. Burnishing Mable Tiles Other than the scratches the majority of the floor had been well maintained so the solution was to burnishing the marble back to its original condition using a set of diamond encrusted pads fitted to a slow speed machine and lubricated with a little water. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and applied to the floor with a little water one by one using a rotary machine running at slow speed. The process starts with the coarse pad which strips back the top layer and removes sealers and dirt from the surface of the stone. The pads then become finer and finer with the last pad being a final polish that takes the tile back to near it’s originally intended shine. You can see from the photographs that we actually managed to resurface the marble, remove the scratches and we also filled in some small holes and then allowed the floor to dry

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300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished

22nd March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning service, cleaning services, floor restoration, marble flooring, marble polishing, marble tiles, Oxshott, palatial home, Sealing, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

Following on from a referral from a Property Management company I paid a visit it to this palatial property in Oxshott which had approximately 300m2 of Marble tiled flooring that they wanted cleaning and re-polishing, my initial quotation to do this mechanically was too high so I offered an alternative using diamond encrusted burnishing pads which reduced the cost significantly. I didn’t receive an answer so I thought that was the end of it however five months later I got an email asking me to carry out the works. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing This was a very large area so we had two men working with burnishing pads in 10 metre sections. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. Fortunately there were not many stains and the ones that were there came out quite easily. When we had completed a room using this system we then applied Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising power worked into the floor using a white buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow

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